Any lingering doubts that the Obama campaign is a cult of personality should be erased by this news that the campaign is offering a “limited edition” car magnet for donors who give $15 or more before Wednesday. The campaign is marketing its own collectibles! (Will donors get a certificate of authenticity with their limited edition magnet?) Mind you, the campaign is just cashing in on a market that’s already thriving on eBay. There are 1,433 Obama items currently on offer under the “Collectibles” category. They range from fake license plates to designer ceramic tiles to original artwork. There’s even a Barak Obama lock knife and Obama trading cards. The discerning collector, of course, will avoid the tchotchkes and go for the rare items with value. Here, for instance, is a “memorialized transcript collector’s print” of the great Philadelphia race speech. (Photo of racist grandmother not included.) Items signed by His Hopeness–books, magazines, baseballs, Chicago Bears mini-helmets–are priced in the hundreds of dollars. And that limited edition magnet may be a real steal for only $15. The Obey Obama posters, once sold on the campaign website, go for hefty sums now. One listing is asking $1,199 for the set of two. Another seller is offering just one of them–again, originally bought for a few bucks from the campaign website. The current bid is $256.
